Alberta town to vote on bylaw that would ban rainbow flags, crosswalks
A town in central Alberta will head to the polls in early 2024 to vote on a bylaw that would ban rainbow flags and crosswalks in the town.
On Monday, Westlock Town Council set a date for a municipal plebiscite to decide how best to move forward with the proposed “Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw,” put before the council as a result of a petition.
The decision for a plebiscite results from an October 30 verification of a petition submitted to the Town of Westlock, which calls for a bylaw that restricts the town to flying flags representative of only the municipal, provincial, or federal governments.
The same petition demanded that crosswalks be painted only in a “traditional” white-laddered pattern.
Per the Municipal Government Act, the council was required to give the first reading to the proposed Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw on Monday before either voting in favour of the second and third reading or moving to a plebiscite.
The plebiscite has been scheduled for Thursday, February 22, 2024.
“This is the next step in the process that we are legislated to follow,” said Acting Mayor Murtaza Jamaly in a news release.
“At this point, we feel like our community needs to weigh in on the Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw at a plebiscite. On February 22, 2024, our community will need to make a hard choice. They will need to choose if removing our community’s rainbow crosswalk sends the right message about who we are.”
Jamaly added that removing the crosswalk would be a first in this province, and if the referendum is passed, it will likely send the message that “we aren’t an inclusive community,” something he knows “to be untrue.”
Westlock has a population of just over 4,900 residents, per the 2021 Canadian census.
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